Daily Dialogue — November 20, 2015

“I wrote no defense of Eichmann, but I did try to reconcile the shocking mediocrity of the man with his staggering deeds. Trying to understand him is not the same thing as forgiveness. And furthermore, I see it as my responsibility to understand. It is the responsibility of anyone who dares to put pen to paper on this subject.”

— Hannah Arendt (2012), written by Pam Katz & Margarethe von Trotta

The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and Writing. Today’s suggestion by Gisela.

Trivia: Director Margarethe von Trotta was confronted with the idea for a movie about the German philosopher Hannah Arendt in December 2002. She couldn‘t imagine to portray somebody “thinking“ on big screen while first, but changed her mind a few weeks later while driving on a bus with her US Co-writer Pamela Katz. It took nine years of research, writing and complicate financing until von Trotta could start shooting in October 2011 (as a coproduction between Germany, Luxembourg, France and Israel).

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Gisela: “Hannah Arendt wrote about crimes against humanity, about how the Holocaust could happen. But her plea for understanding what you talk about fits all art.

Von Trotta‘s movie reflects how Arend is loathed for her writing. At the end of the movie her husband asks her: “Would you have covered the trial if you knew what was expecting you?” She answers: “Yes. I would have covered it. Maybe to learn who my real friends are.”